Sustainability Curriculum

Courses

301 Practicum in Sustainability Students will gain practical skills for creating a sustainable society by using the Dickinson College campus or other selected organization or community as a living laboratory in which to study and develop solutions to real and pressing problems of sustainable planning and management. Concepts of sustainable systems and sustainable planning and management will be explored and reinforced through application in a significant group or individual project that requires students to identify a problem; analyze potential solutions that would advance sustainability goals that encompass environmental stewardship, social justice and economic vitality; develop recommendations; and communicate recommendations to relevant constituencies with the aim of seeing their recommendations implemented. Examples of problem areas on which the course may focus include reducing campus greenhouse gas emissions; performing a campus sustainability audit; and developing plans to address transportation, nutrition, public health, economic development and biodiversity conservation needs in the local community and region.Prerequisite dependent upon topic.

330 Global Environmental Challenges and Governance Many environmental challenges cross international borders and some, like climate change, are truly global in their causes, consequences and potential solutions. These challenges often are beyond the means of individual nations to solve and global institutions have been created to negotiate, mobilize and oversee international cooperation to address them. Taking an interdisciplinary approach, we will explore the demographic, social and economic drivers of a selected global environmental challenge, the dangers it poses to ecological systems, human wellbeing, sustainable development and national security; policy options for responding to the dangers; and the processes, politics and effectiveness of the governance institutions that have jurisdiction over it. The exploration will result in students being able to articulate the perspectives of key stakeholders on important issues in the governance of global environmental change and critically analyze the performance of global environmental governance institutions.Prerequisites: Any two DIV III lab science courses, or permission of instructor.

490 Baird Honors Colloquium Students accepted into the Baird Sustainability Fellows program will explore questions about sustainability from a variety of disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives and build leadership and professional skills as agents of change. The specific assignments and content of the colloquium will be decided in concert with the admitted students. These may include conversations with invited scholars and practitioners, discussions of selected readings and public lectures, individual or collaborative projects, written essays, presentations of student research and service projects, student led class sessions, workshops, and field trips. Each student will create an electronic portfolio to document attainment of sustainability learning goals.The colloquium is a half-credit course that will meet for 90 minutes each week. Grading for the course will be credit/no credit.